201 F St NE, Washington, DC 20002
Back when we were just getting off the ground meeting in the theater at Union Station, we had a dream we decided to circle in prayer. It seemed ridiculous, but sometimes those crazy prayers have a way of working their way into our spirits. We had the dream of converting a former crack house into a coffeehouse. We had a dream of creating a space where the church and community could cross paths. We prayed for a place where we could bless people with a warm, convivial gathering space, and where all the profits would go toward local and international community outreach projects.
One block from Union Station, this neglected property had an asking price of one million dollars. At the time, our attendance and budget were nowhere near enough to reach that amount. We were a church. Churches don’t build coffeehouses, and we had zero experience in the coffee business. We prayed hard for years. We laid hands on the walls and prayed. We knelt on the property and prayed. We fasted and prayed. And we lost count of how many circles we prayed around that old crack house.
Long before this nuisance property had fallen into decline it was a little café that served train travelers visiting the nation’s capital. Six years after we began praying, we miraculously were able to buy the property—even though we had been outbid by four other potential buyers!
After we bought the property, we laid our hands on the walls and prayed. We climbed down 20-foot ladders and held a prayer meeting in the concrete foundation. We circled the promises of God by writing them on the walls. Those walls are primed with prayers and prophecies! We have long since covered them with acoustic treatments in our performance space, but they are ever-present.
We opened Ebenezers Coffeehouse® in 2006. The largest coffeehouse on Capitol Hill, Ebenezers serves “coffee with a cause.” This means our profits go to missions projects in our cities and around the world. Although we may not serve traditional butter and eggs like Ernestine Reuter—the old diner’s founder in 1908—we do offer a great cup of Fair Trade coffee. Pay us a visit soon!
Learn more at Ebenezers Coffeehouse®.